Peter Martin and Ellie Harvey

THE CLAIM

It has been a big week for childcare. Kevin Rudd kicked off his campaign with a promise of $450 million in extra funding to improve childcare centres. His minister Kate Ellis said: ''As a result of our policies, the number of children in approved childcare has grown to more than 1 million.''

Is it really Labor's policies that have driven that growth, or would childcare numbers have got there anyway?

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SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

The 1 million figure comes from Child Care in Australia, a report released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations this month. It finds the number of children in officially sanctioned care reached 1,030,970 in September 2012, passing the million mark for the first time. About 616,000 were in childcare centres, 125,000 in family day care, 315,000 in after-school care and the rest in occasional care.

DOES IT STACK UP?

In the three years leading to Labor winning government, childcare numbers grew by just 2.8 per cent. In the five years since, childcare numbers have surged 29.8 per cent. The graph turns up sharply about the time Labor took office.

But this does not mean Labor was responsible for the growth. Just before Labor took office, the John Howard government brought down a final budget awash with support for parents using childcare. It boosted the benefits paid to the centres, allowed parents to claim two years' worth of rebates in one year, and introduced real-time rebate payments so parents would not have to wait until the end of each financial year to claim back money through the tax system.

Labor built on these moves, boosting the size of the rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent and allowing more parents to claim it. It also introduced fortnightly payments.

Also, long-term trends are at play. Sydney University economist Stephen Whelan says for the past quarter of a century, increasing numbers of women have been returning to the workforce after having children.

Australian National University economist Robert Breunig says this is happening because women are increasingly university-educated and having children later in life.

Coalition childcare spokesman Sussan Ley pours cold water on the 1 million total, saying it may include some double-counting. But it is hard to deny the numbers are going up. Although long-term trends are at play, the actions of this government - as well as those in Mr Howard's last budget - would have a lot to do with it.

FINDING

The Howard government boosted support for childcare. Labor supercharged it. PolitiFact rates the claim ''mostly true''.

Twitter: @1petermartin, @PolitiFactOz

■Details at politifact.com.au.

Fairfax Media is partnering with Pulitzer-prize winning service PolitiFact during the election campaign.